Illiterate and unable to speak English, Peer Khairi felt adrift in Canada after moving to Toronto with his family in 2003, according to his eldest daughter.

The Afghan immigrant and father of six watched as his children became ever more Westernized, going to the mosque and praying less often, and his daughter straying from tradition by secretly dating another Afghani immigrant, instead of marrying a cousin, she said in testimony put before a Toronto court Friday.

His wife Randjida Khairi seemed to encourage all this — she made most of the decisions in the household and even helped her daughter, Giti Khairi, hide her romantic relationship from her father.

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The man lacked friends and was losing influence over the family he insisted he only wanted to be happy, the 12-person jury heard.

The 65-year-old was also battling health problems, having attempted suicide and survived a brutal car crash in February 2008.

Weeks after that crash, on the morning of March 18, 2008, Mr. Khairi killed his wife by stabbing her many times in the throat and neck with two knives, nearly decapitating her. She choked to death on her own blood.

His trial for second-degree murder has all the hallmarks of an honour killing, set in the context of a family broken down not only by cultural clashes and pressures but also by mental illness and tragedy.

Mr. Khairi has pleaded not guilty, but admitted to inflicting the wounds. At issue is his state of mind during the stabbing and the circumstances surrounding it.

Giti Khairi, now 29, gave evidence against her father Thursday, testimony cut short after she burst into tears during questioning.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Clark told the jury she would not return Friday morning for more testimony as scheduled in order to “spare her any more emotional upset.”

In the woman’s testimony at a preliminary inquiry in 2009, which was used as evidence by the court instead, she confirmed she overheard her mother tell her father in the days before the killing she was going to leave him.

Ms. Khairi had heard her mother make such threats before, but never believed her mother wanted to divorce her father.

Her parents’ fights got worse after they arrived in Canada from India, where they had lived after leaving Afghanistan. The couple failed to learn English, despite taking English as a second language classes for a full year, the daughter said.

Her mother suffered from epilepsy, and had tuberculosis. Both she and her husband were on disability benefits and money was running short.

Randjida Khairi was trying to arrange for the family to leave their cockroach-infested apartment in west Toronto.

After Mr. Khairi’s car crash, he said he felt like his brain was “broken.”

Unable to sleep, he would become agitated and act strangely, Giti Khairi said. Before that, he tried to kill himself by overdosing on pills.

“I’m not happy with my life,” he told her.

The night before the killing, Mr. Khairi fought with his daughter about her repeated weekend visits to her fiancé’s house.

“Don’t stay overnight with him,” he said. “It’s not in our culture.”

The next morning, he went into his daughter’s room to apologize for losing his temper, much like he did after the many bitter fights with his wife.

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